Just back from Autotrain - report

[treloarf]

We just got back from Fl. & taking the autotrain was a true once in a lifetime experience. The trip going to Fla. was wonderful - the return was well.....read on.

We drove from Pgh. to Lorton & the train was waiting for us. It left 1/2 hour before it's 4:00 pm schedule. We were in a car with families & kids the same ages as ours. We immeditiately met people from Pgh., New York, New Jersey. Everyone was very friendly. I forgot to mention -- we got to the train at 1:45 & the only dinner time available was 9:00 pm.

We had snacks in the lounge car & played cards. The kids loved it. We watched a movie at 7:00 pm. Had dinner at 9:00 which was really good. They do not have kids meals anymore. They just offer a smaller portion of adult menu. Selections were beef, chicken, fish & pasta. Desert was excellent.

Sleeping was a little tough - if you're a light sleeper - it may be a long night. All the kids woke up at 5:00 am & so did the adults. Sunday was a lonnnnnnngggggggg day

The return was *(!&8^*... The train was 2-1/2 hours late & the family sitting behind us - their son puked all night & into the next day. The train rocked side to side pretty bad. My daughter & I popped dramamine all night.

In conclusion, the price was right (buy one, get one free). It was a great one time experience especially for the kids. But I will fly to Florida from now on.

Oh, the biggest problem, trying to get to the train station on time was just too stressful for me. Four -1/2 hour drive to Lorton & then a 3 hour drive from my MIL's house was just too close for comfort when you know if you miss this train, there's not another one until the next day.

If there any questions, please email me.

 

[zurgswife]

Was the buy one free get one something you found on the amtrak site or did you see it in your local paper....that wouldn't make the rate to bad.....I've always chosen to fly over auto train because for my family of 6 the train is always more then flying...

 

[DisneyPoly]

zurgswife ... we are a family of 6 from Bucks County and have taken the auto train many times. I just purchased our tickets for our trip in July, the amtrak.com website was offering AAA members a "kids ride free" offer. For the 6 of us, including a van (which they charge more for) was $850 roundtrip.

They are currently offering the buy 1 get 2nd half price and 3rd person free deal. If you go to their website they have a special icon and code to use.

It's worth checking out.

 

[JudithM]

Originally posted by treloarf
The return was *(!&8^*... The train was 2-1/2 hours late & the family sitting behind us - their son puked all night & into the next day. The train rocked side to side pretty bad. My daughter & I popped dramamine all night.

I am sorry to read that he Autotrain has not changed since we last rode it round trip in the summer of 2001. The tracks were the WORST we had ever experienced. We started riding Autotrain in 1993, but after the 2001 trip we will NOT ride it again until the rail beds are improved. It was not your usual rocking back & forth. We actually felt like the train would jump the tracks at any time.

We have had this discussion before on this bb about the rocking & I don't need to get into again. My cousin & her husband took the Autotrain north last fall & said it was the trip from !@#$.

We used to really like taking the Autotrain for the time it saved us driving, but not any more. I95 here we come!

 

[DisneyKidds]

Thanks for the report. I have always wondered about the autotrain and how good/bad the experience was. Nice to have your perspective. My aunt and uncle just took the autotrain down and back and were very surprised at how rough the ride was.

Given that it takes the same amount of time as driving, and we'd have to drive 5+ hours just to get to Lorton, I don't think the autotrain is for us.

 

[AnnaS]

I have just started new thread asking about Amtrak. Just "considering" it since we had to cancel our Delta flights. (They changed all our flights). It would be myself, daughter and son. Do you recommend as far as cleaniness, safety, uncomfortable? Would an eve. departure (like 7 PM rather than 7:00 AM) make a difference. Thanks.

 

[LisaNJ25]

AnnaS,

The train leaves the same time and there is only one train daily so you do not have you choice of times. It leave at 4 pm and arrive at 8:30 the next morning. We were lucky to arrive a half hour early but as you read other have arrived later.

We took the train in Sept and enjoyed it. My kids were 9 and 3 at the time. It was clean and safe. We had no problems sleeping. I would definitely take the train again.

Lisa

 

[SAKPEG99OKW]

AnnS DW, DS and myself took the regular amtrak from Newark, NJ in November. I would not recomend it with small children, like under 3 yrs old. The train itself going down was 2 hours late, we had a 7:00pm departure time from Newark. There was no dinner service, (crew missed the conection) so they brought in turkey and roast beef sand. Our sleeper car was small, very small even for two adults let alone a small baby. Maybe we were crazy but the amtak people told us there was more then enough room. The compartment was clean, and made up for us upon arival. There was a community shower in every car, not bad, clean. Oh, by the way did I say that the sleeper compartment was small!. The ride back to Jersey was *^&^%*%. The train out of Kissame was late, very late. The crew was very nasty. The following morning we could not take showers because they forgot to fill up with water in DC. Overall for the $$$$ I don't think we will take the train again.

Hope this helps.

Scott, Peg and Tyler